Seam for sheet metal



(No Model.)

0. E. BERTELS. .SEAM FOR SHEET METAL.

Patented May 24, 1892;

Unrrn STATES CHARLES ELMER BERTELS, OF WVILKES-BARRIQ PENNSYLVANIA.

SEAM FOR SHEET METAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,656, dated May 24, 1892. Application filed December 28, 1891. $erial No. 416,314. (No model.\

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ELMER BER- TELS, a citizen of the United States, residing at WVilkes-Barr, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Seams for Sheet Metal; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact'description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to three-ply seams for uniting pieces of shcet-metal articles of various kinds-as, for example, the sections or parts of a dinner bottle or vessel, the collar and breast of a can, the bottom or head to a pail, or for any other purposes Where it is desirable to form an absolutely Water-tight seam without the use of solder.

Heretofore it has been impracticable to form a three-ply seam on account of the difficulties encountered in bending the several thicknesses of metal, and the result has been that sheet-metal articles have been united by the common Well-known form of double seam, the most serious objection to which is that the seam is not water-tight.

In the presentinvention I aim to producca seam which will enable a workman to more expeditiously and easily unite parts of an article or two layers of sheet metal, and which seam at the same time is absolutely and perfectly water-tight, so that the vessel or article will not leak when a liquid is placed therein.

With these ends in view the invention con sists of a seam in which the two layers of sheet metal are rolled together in convolute form and thereby interlocked, and the seam is flat tened to more firmly unite the rolled edges and impart a neat finish to the article, all as will be hereinafter fully described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I have illustrated the application thereof to three several sheet-metal articles in the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, are sectional views of the method of making the scam in an article known asa dinner bottle or receptacle. Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, are similar views of the method of uniting a collar tothe breastof a can. Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, are similar views of the steps used in uniting the head or bottom to the body of a pail, and Fig. 13 is-a View of the rolling die in the press or machine for giving the lapped edges of the pieces of sheet metal the convolute form previous to flattening the seam.

Like letters of reference denote correspond ing parts in the several figures of the draw- IHOS.

it designates one layer of sheet metal, and B the other layer, which are to be united together by a seam O in accordance with my method. The layer A may represent one part of a sheet-metal article, as the body of a can in Figs. 5 to 8, or the body of a pail, as in Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, while the layer B may form the collar of a can in Figs. 5 to 8,

or the head or bottom of a pail in Figs. 9 to i 12. as will be readily understood.

In practicing my invention in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, I first form a vertical flange a and a shoulder a on the edge of the layer A, and the layer B has its edge bent up to form a similar vertical flange I). These flanges, however, are not of the same length or width, the flange a being somewhat wider than the flange b, so that when the flanges are adjusted or placed one within the other, as in Fig. 1, the upper edge of the flanged projects above the corresponding edge of the flange b. This is important in the formation of my seam, as the edge of the flange a is doubled or bent over the edge of the flange Z) preliminary to rolling or curving the flanges upon themselves. With the flanges a b of the two layers of sheet metal in the parallel positions indicated in Fig. 1 the flanges are placed beneath the curving or rolling die D in a press or machine E of any ordinary form, (indicated in Fig. 13,) and the lower surface of the die D has a channel or groove (Z therein, the contour or angle of which is such that'as the die descends its working face (1 first strikes the upper edge of the flange a, said flange being thereby bent or doubled over the upper edge of the flange b, as at a in Fig. 2 of the drawings. As the die continues to descend the upper doubled edges of the connected flanges impinge against the convex surface d of the die and said flanges are rolled or coiled. spirally together in the form and manner indi cated by Fig. 3 of the drawings, the doubled connected edges of the flanges lying wholly within the body of the seam, which presents a solid unbroken surface. After the flanges have been properly rolled or coiled together to such an extent as to form a three-ply scam the layers A B or article is removed from the press E and placed in another machine or subjected to another operation, in which the seam is subjected to considerable pressure, and is thereby flattened out into the form represented by Fig. 4 of the drawings, whereby the flanges are more firmly united and locked together and the seam is given a neater appearance to impart abetter finish to the article, and, besides, the seam is rendered thereby absolutely water-tight.

In joining the body or collar of a can or other metallic vessel together in accordance with my invention the body B is provided with an internal depending flange b and the collar A fits within said flange to such an extent that its lower edge (it lies below the lower edge of the flange Z) on the body B. (See Fig. 5.) When the parts are placed in the press, the die first bends or doubles the lower edge a of the collar over the flange b, as at a in Fig. 6, and then the flanges are coiled spirally together, as in Fig. 7, to form a three-ply seam O, in which the inner edges of the flanges are wholly within the seam, as in Fig. 7, after which the seam is flattened. (See Fig. 8.)

In Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, the head or bottom 13 of a pail has a flange b, which lies within and below the lower edge a of the body A, as in Fig. 9, and when the die descends the edge a of the body is doubled or folded over the edge of the flange b, as at a in Fig. 10, and the two edges being curved or coiled spirally together, Fig. 11, and the seam thereby formed is flattened, Fig. 12.

AlthoughI have only shown and described my seam as adapted for uniting the parts of certain specific sheet-metal articles, yet I would have it understood that the invention is not restricted to either of these specific applications of the seam, as it is evident that the seam can be used in joining any two layers of sheet metal where it is desirable to have the parts joined by a simple, strong, watertight and durable seam, capable of easy and ready production within a very short time.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new,-and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A three-ply seam for uniting two pieces of sheet metal, having the edges of the metal joined by bending or folding one edge over the other and said connected edges being coiled upon part of one piece of metal, said coiled edges being flattened substantially at right angles to one of the pieces of sheet metal, for the purpose described, as set forth. 2. The method of uniting two pieces of sheet metal by a three-ply seam, which consists, first, in bending or lapping the edge of one sheet over the edge of the other sheet; second, coiling the connected edges of the two sheets upon themselves, and, finally, flatten ing the coiled edges at right angles to one of the pieces of sheet metal, for the purpose described, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES ELMER BERTELS.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH R. EDSON, H. J. BERNHORD. 

